The War of 1812

A war that is not discussed very often that the new country of the United States was involved in is called the War of 1812. The new Americans had many irritations to deal with which preceded the beginning of this war and some of them started in Europe between France and Britain. France and Britain were making it difficult for each other to trade their goods in Europe. France, which had supremacy over the continent of Europe prevented British goods from being sold there. In their turn, Britain, which was dominant over the seas, sought to blockade Europe.

To get around the French, the British declared that neutral ships should go through Britain before going to Europe to sell their goods. The French, who were unhappy with this act, denounced all neutral ships which went along with the British embargo. The United States felt aggrieved by the actions of both France and Britain, but it was more upset with Britain. On top of dominating the seas, Britain was also removing British sailors from American ships and also would kidnap American sailors. The United States was not happy with any of these actions.

To combat the actions of the British, the Embargo Act was enacted and American ships were forbidden to engage in foreign trade. This did not force France and Britain to open up trade to them, but severely weakened New England’s shipping industry. The next answer, to some people, was to declare war and invade Canada. The war was so unpopular in New England that in 1814 they considered seceding from the union.

The war was fought along the Canadian border, Washington D.C. and New Orleans, with some gains won by Britain and some won by the U.S., but the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The differences between Britain and the United States were not resolved with this treaty, but it did end the fighting.